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Workers at Mississippi auto supplier protesting low wages

Workers at an automotive seat factory in Mississippi are protesting what they say are low wages and poor working conditions as they attempt to unionize in what could become a new front for the United Auto Workers in the state. A group of workers and supporters at the Faurecia SA seating plant in Cleveland plans a Tuesday march. "We work an auto job and we're getting paid like Wal-Mart wages," said Jamarqus Reed, a 32-year-old Pace resident who has worked at the plant for almost 10 years. "We're trying to better ourselves." Nationally, the UAW has staked its future on unionizing Southern auto factories, with limited success so far. The union has been trying to organize Nissan Motor Co.'s Canton, MS, plant for years, and lost a 2008 worker vote at a Johnson Controls plant in nearby Madison that French-based Faurecia bought in 2011. The UAW narrowly lost a unionization vote at the Volkswagen AG plant in Chattanooga, TN, last year, but the union has since qualified for a new labor policy at the plant that grants access to meeting space and to regular discussions with management. The policy stops short of collective bargaining rights. The union is also trying to organize Nissan's assembly plant in Smyrna, TN, and Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz plant in Tuscaloosa, AL. Protesters say Faurecia employees make a top wage of $11.64 per hour, while contract workers make $7.73 an hour. Company spokesman Tony Sapienza said that with overtime, the typical Faurecia employee makes more than the $27,000 a year that is the median wage around Cleveland. Wages are often low in the heavily impoverished Delta. "We are very confident that we are offering a very competitive wage," Sapienza said. Organizers criticize use of lower-paid contract workers Shannon Greenidge, a 44-year-old Cleveland resident, said she worked for a labor agency for more than two years before being hired directly by Faurecia. Greenidge said she makes $9.29 an hour, and can't save for retirement or to send her 11-year-old daughter to college. "That's not going to help me down the line in life," she said. Union supporters say as many as half the workers at the plant work for a contract-labor agency. Sapienza said that while the number varies, the company expects 15 percent of its workforce will be temporary employees this year. The UAW has organized some Southern auto parts plants in recent years, including Faurecia plants in Cottondale, Alabama, in 2012 and Louisville, Kentucky in 2013.

Daimler CEO Zetsche answers 'Most likely' to question of a Maybach SUV

When Dieter Zetsche was asked about the possibility of getting Maybach, the reimagined Mercedes-Benz ultra-luxury sub-brand, into the premium SUV game, the Daimler CEO reportedly told Auto Express, "Most likely." Those two little words aren't a firm answer – let alone an indication of timing – but we wouldn't be shocked to find out Mercedes is already working on one. Range Rover has gone even more upscale, the Bentley Bentayga is coming this year, as will the Maserati Levante. Rolls-Royce is deciding on an SUV this year (we think it's only a matter of time before they say "yes"), the Lamborghini Urus is still expected in 2018, Aston Martin is raising funds to build a crossover, and there have been rumors of a BMW X7 and Audi Q9 for years. Point being, everyone is busy writing their own invite to this ultra posh party. The latest comments would appear to put to rest any will-they/won't-they questions around a high-riding Maybach offering. There were rumors last summer that a GL-Class SUV (a model range shortly to be known as GLS-Class) with revamped styling and lots of luxury touches would join the top-tier sub-brand, but then in November, Mercedes' global head of sales and marketing told Automotive News, "I don't want to categorically rule anything out, but at this stage we have no plans for it [a Maybach SUV]." If and when a Maybach utility does become official, we'll only be picking up where we left off with the brand's previous incarnation: a GL-based Maybach was rumored way back in 2007. News Source: Auto ExpressImage Credit: Copyright 2015 Steven Ewing / AOL Maybach Mercedes-Benz SUV Luxury mercedes gl-class

2015 Mercedes C-Class owners reporting bleeding seats [UPDATE]

UPDATE: Daimler AG became aware that, in a small number of individual cases, it is possible for temporary spots and/or shiny patches to form on the man-made leather surfaces of the 2015 C-Class in sub-freezing temperatures. No accidents or injuries have been reported, and we have no reason to believe that there are any hazards to customers. Replacement parts are expected to start shipping to dealers by next week. Owners of the 2015 Mercedes-Benz C-Class are learning the hard way that you don't necessarily want to buy a new vehicle in its first model year. Besides reports of poorly fitting taillights and faulty infotainment touchpads, a number of reports are popping up on the forums of MBWorld.org claiming that the compact luxury sedan's seats are, for lack of a better term, bleeding. Owners of US-built, 2015 C-Classes fitted with MB Tex vinyl interiors are reporting a white, oily, shiny residue discoloring their seats that shows up, often after cold cars are quickly heated. It's important to note that this residue is not necessarily staining the seats permanently – warm, soapy water is often all that's needed to restore the original finish. In other cases, the residue disappears of its own accord, only to reappear in an entirely different pattern. That doesn't make things any more acceptable to owners, many of whom have reached out to Mercedes with complaints. It's not clear how many vehicles are affected, but there are a sizable number of forum threads on the issue on MBWorld alone, and the problem is prevalent enough that Mercedes has issued a technical service bulletin to its dealers. According to the forum postings, the TSB instructs service technicians to replace the headrest and seat cover (except for the front, passenger-side seat bottom because of "factory calibration issues") in affected customer vehicles. New C-Class models in dealer inventories, meanwhile, are to get the soapy water treatment if they're showing signs of the residue. Neither one of those moves seems to represent a long-term fix, though. Black MB Tex seats – both the standard and sport variety – seem to be particularly susceptible to the residue, although we stumbled across at least one image of what looks like Silk Beige MB Tex with speckles of residue.